Skip Navigation U.S. Department of Health and Human Services www.hhs.gov
Agency for Healthcare Research Quality www.ahrq.gov
www.ahrq.gov

Table 1_1_4.1
Women with Stage I-IIb breast cancer who received axillary node dissection or sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) at the time of surgery (lumpectomy or mastectomy),a United States, 1999 and 2005
Population group 2005 1999
Percent SE Percent SE
Total 86.5 0.2 75.3 0.2
Node dissection Sentinel lymph node biopsy 34.1 0.2 13.0 0.2
Axillary node dissection 33.8 0.2 48.6 0.2
Combination 18.6 0.2 13.7 0.2
Age Under 40 90.4 0.6 85.4 0.7
40–49 89.9 0.4 84.9 0.4
50–59 90.9 0.3 85.1 0.4
60–69 90.3 0.3 82.6 0.4
70–79 85.6 0.4 69.1 0.5
80 and over 59.4 0.8 37.2 0.7
Race American Indian/Alaska Native * * * *
Asian 88.5 1.0 83.2 1.2
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander * * * *
Black only 87.0 0.6 77.0 0.7
White only 86.3 0.2 75.0 0.2
Ethnicity Hispanic, all races 87.9 0.7 81.4 1.0
Non-Hispanic, other 88.0 1.0 82.8 1.2
Non-Hispanic, Black 87.0 0.6 77.0 0.7
Non-Hispanic, White 86.3 0.2 74.7 0.2
Health insurance, under age 65 Private 90.2 0.2 81.7 0.3
Public only 81.4 0.3 65.4 0.4
Uninsured/other 88.4 0.4 82.4 0.3
Health insurance, age 65 and over Medicare only 78.9 0.8 62.5 0.7
Medicare and supplement 79.6 0.4 62.6 0.5
Family incomeb Negative/poor 86.3 2.7 67.7 3.3
Near poor/low 86.4 0.2 76.1 0.3
Middle 86.1 0.3 73.4 0.4
High 87.1 0.9 73.3 1.2
Residence location Metropolitan 86.0 0.2 74.5 0.2
  Large metropolitan, more than 1 million 85.1 0.3 73.3 0.3
  Small metropolitan, less than 1 million 87.7 0.3 76.6 0.4
Micropolitan 87.6 0.6 81.1 0.7
Noncore 89.5 0.7 79.8 0.8
  Noncore, adjacent 89.0 0.8 78.9 0.9
  Noncore, rural 91.1 1.3 83.2 1.6

a There is not full agreement regarding the appropriate population (denominator) for this measure, addressing lymph node surgery in women with breast cancer. In the most current draft form during production of the Reports, the measure specification from the National Quality Forum included only women with stage I/II cancer. Women classified as having stage III disease during lymph node surgery (based on 4 or more positive nodes) will be excluded if their stage prior to surgery (i.e., clinical stage) was not recorded. This may artificially lower the rates for this measure.

b Negative/poor refers to household incomes below $17,500; near poor/low, over the poverty line to just below 200 percent of the Federal poverty line; middle, 200 percent to just below 400 percent of the poverty line; and high, 400 percent of the poverty line and over.

* - Data do not meet the criteria for statistical reliability, data quality, or confidentiality.

Key: SE: standard error.

Source: Commission on Cancer, American College of Surgeons and American Cancer Society, National Cancer Data Base.

 

AHRQ Advancing Excellence in Health Care